Sleeping with the Enemy: Outlook for Android Gets a Major UX Upgrade

When Microsoft delivered the first version of its Outlook app for Android, it became obvious quickly that it was just a slightly altered version of the Hotmail app. But the version released today features a complete user experience refresh that makes the app look and work more like the excellent web client.

I like it!

First of all, it’s beautiful, with clean, easy to read fonts and a nice layout. If you love the modern look of Outlook.com, you’ll feel right at home with this app.

From a functionality perspective, it includes everything you should expect: Email sync to the app, of course, but also contacts and calendar sync to the relevant Android apps. Conversation View, just like any Microsoft email solution. Notifications and Quiet time configuration. Push support thanks to Exchange ActiveSync (EAS). The works.

Did I mention it was gorgeous?

This thing almost makes me want to use Android. (Almost.) It’s like an Outlook-branded version of the excellent Mail app (Outlook Mobile) in Windows Phone 8.